Reflective Blog 3: Job Application & Interview

For my final part of Unit 2 for the Leicester Award for Ambassadors, I completed a mock job application process and interview, receiving feedback at each stage. For my final blog, I will discuss how I approached each stage of the application, whilst considering the feedback I received and what I would change if I was to re-complete this process. The "job" I applied for was the role of  Education Outreach officer and I should take the time to note that this is not an area I am looking to move into.

Application Process

Firstly I emailed back requesting details on the Job role and I have included the email in the image below for reference purposes:

(Personal information has been removed due to the public nature of this blog)

Although the content was 'generally good' and contained both the reference 'HU/1234' and the job title, if I was to rewrite this email I would alter the subject information, which within this email was simply: 'Leicester award Job Details: HU/1234. Obviously, if this was a real job the Leicester Award part of the subject would not be included. However reflectively, if this is removed the subject title does seem a little informal. If I was to rewrite this, then I would alter my subject of this email to 'Request for information: Edudcation Outreach Officer (HU/1234)'. Although my feedback suggested that I could address my email more personally, as I had the contact name, it also said that addressing an email in this manner was also acceptable. Reflectively, I would address my email in this way again, as I believe it is more polite and I prefer remaining formal at this stage. Alongside which, it ensures that I do not accidently offend a prospective employee with choosing the wrong title, for example 'Miss' rather than 'Mrs' or 'Ms.'

(Email containing application for the job. Personal information has again been omitted)

After receiving more information on the job role I then had to complete an application and email it back. My email was appropriate in both tone and information. However, my feedback made the suggestion to include a cover letter in future when applying for jobs. I think that this may be something I forgot due to the nature of the job being fake, however if I was to apply for a similar job, or in a similar way, I would definitely include a cover letter and if the application was not a personal statement, I would consider including a CV for further reference. If I was to email a cover letter as well I would consider the previous feedback and perhaps address it more personally to the person advertising the job (in this case this would be 'Ms Ashby'). After briefly researching cover letters I believe I would follow the advice listed on the Kent University website shown in the image below:

( from: http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/coveringletters.htm)


The final stage of the application was the application itself, which was in the form of a personal statement. I think that this form suits me best as I am able to best express the variety of things that I have done and how they apply to the job role. Despite this, this process allowed me to see other types of applications, such as ones containing different scenarios and to consider how I would effectively deal with them. Overall, despite receiving no feedback on it, I think my application was good and worked effectively to promote myself. When comparing mine to other applications for the same job I was able to see that I had answered each question to a high degree and had written enough information. However, during this process I did notice one grammatical error within my statement. To avoid this in future, I will re-read my application the next day and edit it accordingly, alongside spending more time constructing it. Ultimately I think that the pretend nature of this process, perhaps meant I did not spend as long on it as I would on a real application. I spent approximately two - two and a half hours on my statement/application, whereas the recommended time is closer to six - seven, which is definitely something to consider in the future, ensuring it is not rushed.


Interview Stage

Watching other people interviewed allowed me to consider how I interview, whilst also think about possible questions that could come up. If I was to do this process again, or complete a real interview for a job, I would think of possible questions before hand and research them to ensure I was prepared. This could be practised by asking a friend to pretend to interview me before hand. Alongside this, I think that this would combat the issues within my feedback relating to my 'naturally fast speaking voice', particularly when I was less comfortable with the questions. Despite this, my feedback also said that I was ' a good and engaging speaker'.

I was interviewed by a man and a woman. Being aware that I was being interviewed by two separate people meant that I tried to ensure I retained eye contact with both of them, directing my answers equally to them, to ensure I did not exclude one interviewer. I believe it is because of this observation that I was able to gain feedback of 'good eye contact', alongside which it was also noted that I had 'good hand gestures'. This is something to consider during an interview for the future, as watching other people being interviewed allowed me to understand the importance of not over using your hands, or the mistake of not using them at all.

My most positive feedback from my interviewer was: 'she probably had the most 'presence' and natural energy/confidence of anyone being interviewed that evening'. Obviously this is brilliant feedback to receive and is definitely a positive to take into future interviews. However, it is also a strength to remember and ensure that I am well rested and fed before an interview, to ensure that it is maintained in future. Especially as this may help me be a memorable candidate.

I found some of the questions hard to answer and found that I needed an extra minute to think of an answer To combat this I occasionally asked for the question to be repeated or expanded on, this is a technique I would definitely use again as it allowed me to gather my thoughts and ensure I was answering the question I was actually being asked rather than what I thought I had been asked. Over all my feedback said that I had 'very good answers' and my interviewer 'was particularly impressed by the range of examples she [i] usd which went beyond just the academic'. Furthermore, my answers were deemed of a good length. However, I should not be afraid of talking myself up, ensuring that I do not use 'we do' and rather make the small alteration to 'I do'. Alongside this, my final answer, which I do not exactly recall, was critiqued and in future I will try to remember that it is important to try to place some passion in my final statement to leave a good impression.

Reflective Blog 2: Presentation Feedback

Although, through my involvement in netball and working as an Ambassador, I speak in front of large groups of people on a regular basis, presentations always seem to make me nervous. Whether this is due to the fact it’s my own ideas, the pressurised nature of a presentation or the premeditation beforehand I honestly don’t know.  However, presentations pose a variety of problems and so it was a great opportunity to practise in front of a group of people and receive feedback. I based my presentation on working in PR with the aim to answer and address the question: ‘How my experiences to date, both work and study, relate to my future career plans?’

 

(title page from my presentation)

Firstly let’s consider my presentation itself. Being familiar and comfortable with Microsoft Office, I decided to use PowerPoint to present my presentation and I believe that this worked well. However, I went over my time limit and had to rush through information. For the future I need to try and cut out the amount of information, both on the slides and presenting, to try to leave the audience with a better understanding of what I am trying to say. To do this I may consult the career’s office to know what information is not vital to a job presentation.  Furthermore, I will try and use the rule of three and include an introductory slide to help me to narrow my focus and not lose sight of my main point. Despite this, I did receive positive feedback for my introduction and ‘good signposting of where the content would be’, alongside having a good basic structure. I used the STAR technique, which appeared to be highly effective. Furthermore, on one slide I listed desirable qualities for a job in PR (see slide image below) and pointed out my weakness regarding financial aspects. Despite this, I tried to keep it positive, identifying that this was something I was aware of and therefore would work harder at and then listed my strengths immediately afterwards. This was received well in the feedback as showing ‘excellent self-awareness’ and is definitely something to consider in the future. The individual slides were presented with a simple template layout with a blue swirl that was deemed professional and was easy to read from, as shown in the images above and below.

(slide number 7: PR qualities)

Finally consideration must be made to my presentation skills, regarding both voice and body language. Although I spoke with good volume and style, I spoke far too quickly. This is something I’ve been picked up on before and unfortunately due to the fast natural rhythm with which I speak normally. Despite this, it’s something I have to be aware of when presenting to a prospective employer, alongside with presentations in particular. The skill to present to people is particularly important when considering PR and so I need to practice my presentations in similar situations to get used to slowing down. Furthermore, I think having a lot less information to say and on my slides may help me slow down. For example in the image below you can see the range of examples I have for each desirable personal quality.

(slide 8: my personal qualities)

If I was to redo this slide in particular I would chose one example for each as shown below:

(new slide 8 after considering feedback)

Keeping the information shorter would allow me to expand on it without having a cluttered slide and overwhelming the audience with a variety of examples. However, I maintained the information on the second bullet point as during my feedback I was told that stating that I only missed one day showed that I was honest as I did not state that I had never missed any days of work at all.

 From watching other presentations I was able to see that a slide averages around a minute of talking. For a five minute presentation I had nine slides, eight of which were body slides and this could be a large factor as to why I sped up during my presentation. In the feedback the suggestion was made to film myself presenting so I can see both my speed and my use of the repetition of ‘all the rest of it’. Although I am self-conscious about watching myself back, I think it’s definitely something to consider in the future to help me become more aware of these aspects. I felt comfortable with my body language throughout the presentation and was told I had ‘confident, open body language’. Despite this, I need to ensure I do not remain completely stationary and use the space.

Ultimately I think my presentation went well and used PowerPoint as an effective visual aid. I used the clicker for easy transition between slides, alongside the laser pointer to futher highlight points. If I was to do the same presentation again, I would cut down the amount of information on my slides and try to focus in on a few main areas. Furthermore, I would definitely attempt to alter my pace of speech and be aware of using the phrase ‘all the rest of it’, although hopefully this would be removed along with the reduction of information. I would also try not to remain so stagnant and move around a little bit more. Despite this, I used humour within my presentation effectively and came across both friendly and professional.

Careers Research Reflective Blog

I decided to narrow down my careers research to concentrating on researching careers in PR. My main aim of my initial research was to find out about what the job entailed, typical work activities and aspects of career development. Furthermore, I wanted to find out what the typical entry requirements would be to see whether further University study would be needed.

Once I had decided my research aims, I must admit I had no idea where to start trying to find out the answers to them! I decided to use Google search to see if I could find out any basic information.  Google pointed me towards the following website:

http://www.cipr.co.uk/content/careers-cpd/careers-pr/pr-you

The website provided me with a variety of questions to consider and research. For example it posed the question of is PR for you and the basic what is PR.  The first question was followed by a stream of follow up questions and information which helped reassure me that I would be suited to a career in PR as I have good communication skills; I cope well under pressure and have an interest in the world around me. Furthermore, the website contained some information on the day-to-day activities involved in PR. Despite this, the website did not contain any information of what qualifications would be needed to enter into PR, with this company or any other.

 So I decided to make an appointment with the University of Leicester Careers service to try to focus my research. My meeting was extremely helpful and pointed me towards prospects.ac.uk.

(Home page of Prospects.ac.uk)

Using the Job search in my own time I was able to find a page of links relating to marketing and PR.

(types of jobs search, specifically links concerning Advertising, Marketing and PR: prospects.ac.uk.)

From here I was able to find a detailed description on PR, typical work activities, salary, training etc, which was extremely easy to understand and read. The simple structure of this webpage (as shown in the image below) allowed me to find a large amount of information in a concise way that expanded my knowledge of the sector.

(page on PR: prospects.ac.uk.)

However, most interestingly about the website was that it provided a section on typical entry requirements.  The website highlighted the paradox that to get into PR, experience in PR is helpful. More helpfully however, it listed typical attributes candidates would have to show evidence of. For example, it listed excellent communication and writing skills.  I decided to make a note of these attributes with the aim to come back to them later and consider instances of when I have demonstrated each of them. Furthermore, having a list written down means that I can add to it when I do more things later on that may also or better demonstrate these skills.  It also mentioned the Charted Institute of Public Relations, the link of which referred me back to the previous website. Although this award would offer valuable experience, I think having a University degree alongside the ability to demonstrate the listed attributes would be just as valuable as the course is set at an a-level standard. Furthermore, with a price of around £780 (this varies as to where you choose to study) the award is simply not feasible. I therefore think it would be better for me to consider an intern-ship or further MA study that may offer experience within PR.

Overall, my research was helpful in reaffirming that PR was an area I am interested in. However, it also showed me that not only do I need to gain more experience, as this will be a weakness when job hunting, but I also need to develop the attributes listed.  One of these is definitely business awareness and a good knowledge of current affairs, something I am to work on through further research and aiming to keep up to date with the news on a daily basis. Furthermore, I know that my creativity was identified as a weakness in Unit one of the module and it is listed as something important to give evidence of. Therefore I need to consider ways in which I can develop this, so I can provide stronger examples when necessary.

My next aim is to research how to get PR intern-ships and experience in PR, so that I can look into applying for them.